The present invention is directed generally to a panel for use in forming an enclosure (e.g., cabinet) for a variety of products, and more particularly, to a panel construction for use as a front face or bezel of a cabinet, and having breakout elements that are held removably in place by twist-off tabs formed on a non-viewable surface of the panel when the panel is in use.
Panel construction has often included breakout elements in order to permit the panel to be used in more than one situation or environment. Such panel construction may be used when an opening is required on one occasion by removing a breakout element to create the required opening, and again by leaving the breakout element in place when no opening is required on other occasions. For example, panels used to form a faceplate or bezel of a cabinet that houses electronic equipment may be used alternately for different models of the same equipment. Certain models may require operator viewable readout elements or other operator viewable and/or accessible apparatus in one version of a product, while such viewable and/or accessible elements/apparatus may be absent from other versions. In order to accommodate both versions, yet keep cost of manufacture down, such bezels can be constructed having breakout panels that are removed for the first version of the product, and left in place for the second version.
Typically, such panels or bezels are formed with scoring to identify the breakout element in one way or another. Often, unfortunately, removal of the breakout panel will result in a viewable scarring of, or "witnesses" being formed at or about, the periphery of the opening so formed. Although these witnesses can be colored or painted in order to minimize their presence and appearance, this is not an altogether satisfactory solution. In addition to increasing the labor cost in construction the panel, physical evidence of such witnesses left all to often remain.
At other times, removal of breakout panels can cause an unsightly crack to form in the panel, perhaps necessitating disposal of the panel in favor of another.
It can be seen, therefore, that there is a need for a panel construction having breakout element capability that will minimize or obviate unsightly scarring and viewable witnesses when the breakout elements are removed.